Chapter 12
Sydney
“Gah!” I holler as I reach for any available towel out of the drawer next to the kitchen sink.
When I got home from Colin’s to feed Bitsy, I found my faucet leaking more than usual and decided to tinker with it.
Wrong move. It’d been a colossal mistake on my part.
Now I am drenched, my floor is drenched, and Bitsy ran off because she’s drenched.
It’s an absolute mess, and I can’t get it to slow its spraying long enough to locate the valve and turn it off.
I try throwing the towel over the top of the faucet and miss.
“FUCK!” I yell as my feet slip. On my way down, I can’t help thinking this is a shitty way to go.
I’m going to bash my head on something and die, retraumatizing Colin when he finds my dead body.
I hit the floor hard, my back smacking the tile with a thud, but thankfully, not my head.
The pain radiates everywhere, and I’m stunned from it.
I open my mouth to scream, but nothing comes out.
“Sydney?” I hear Colin call out from my patio door as Amy whines and paws at it. I’m still too stunned to say anything. The door swings open tentatively, Amy barging through, her nails clacking on the flooring until she hits water and whines again, slipping in the mess.
Colin steps in with wary eyes, amusement quickly seconded by worry when he sees me in the middle of a soppy puddle on the floor.
“What in the world happened?” he asks, tip-toeing to me with bare feet, attempting to avoid the same fate. Tears well in my eyes from the pain and embarrassment of my situation.
“Oh, babe, how bad is it? Did you hit your head?” He crouches and reaches for me, placing a hand on my arm as he swings open the bottom cupboard door beneath the sink, twisting the valve off, effectively ending the shower of water.
“What hurts?” Colin queries as he starts looking me over, starting with my eyes and searching for any bumps or blood.
“My ass,” I splutter as I half laugh and half cry.
Colin can no longer contain his amusement, laughing heartily as he pulls me to his chest and rubs my back soothingly.
It’s in that moment that Bitsy makes her disdain for the puddle situation known, stepping around the wall’s corner, meowing a pathetic sound to show us just how wet she got.
She’s attempting to lick off the water like that will somehow dry her faster.
Amy scampers over toward her, and Bitsy’s little back arches against the wall and she spits her fury at the big animal.
This only makes us laugh harder. Colin grabs another towel from the drawer by the sink and makes his way to Bitsy.
“Come here, Little Bit. I’ll help get you warm and away from that scary monster.
” My heart warms at the sight of that big man caring for such a tiny, little thing.
It makes my ovaries explode, and I picture him holding a swaddled baby instead of a tiny ball of fluff.
It’s hot. He gets Bitsy mostly dried off, setting her in the bay window in the sunshine and away from Amy.
“More towels?” He eyes me quizzically, and I point toward the foyer.
“Back by the half bath in the hallway, there’s a linen closet. I’m coming.”
“Wait there. I don’t want you slipping again, trying to get up.
I’ll help you up, assess the damage to your ass, then we’ll get this cleaned up.
” He chuckles and slips out of the room to go gather towels.
A minute later, he’s back, laying them out to surround me, making it safer for us to move.
He helps me up and leads me over to the table of the eat-in kitchen, pulling out a chair and sitting on it. “Turn and let me see.”
I blush, embarrassed that this is how he’s going to get me naked and we’re not even having sex.
I’m also strangely turned on by the whole dominant tone he’s using with me.
I unzip my shorts, and he delicately hooks his fingers in the waistband, pulling them down gingerly over my ass so that he doesn’t hurt me.
He lifts the back of my shirt up as well.
He traces the lines of my lace tanga undies before sliding the back of them over my cheeks as well.
“Well, this isn’t what I had in mind for getting you naked today, but I’m not complaining.
You might have some bruising come tomorrow.
For now, there’s just some red blotches along the base of your spine.
No swelling, bumps, lumps, or lacerations.
You might have bruised your tailbone, and that may be sore for a while, but considering you didn’t howl walking over here, I’d bet it’s not broken.
” He rubs gingerly over my skin as I peer over my shoulder at him.
A warm smile is plastered on his face and he leans in to nip the top of one ass cheek with his teeth before placing a kiss on the other and pulling my panties back up.
I gulp, feeling all tingly in all the right places.
“I’ll give you a massage in a bit. Let’s get this mess cleaned up, and I’ll fix your leaky faucet.”
I finish fixing my shorts, thanking him as he begins mopping up water.
Amy is over by the bay window with her head on the cushion, silently watching Bitsy clean herself.
She just wants to love on her so bad. Bitsy eyes Amy back warily, distrust clearly evident with every lick.
Every time Amy makes a move, Bitsy jolts, hissing or spitting with vehemence. It’s fricking hilarious.
I grab a laundry basket for the wet towels, bringing a couple more out to continue the clean up. I take over with the rest of that task while Colin makes his way to a drawer by the refrigerator, pulling out an assortment of tools.
“You weren’t kidding when you said you helped out around here.”
“This sink gave Mabel lots of problems. It might be time to replace some of the hardware. I’ll fix it up till you can find something you like, then I’ll replace it.
” He gets to work, lying on his back with a tiny flashlight between his teeth.
I catch myself watching how his forearms and biceps flex and shift and his shirt skirts up just enough to show a sliver of his lower abs as he works with the tools when I should have been finishing drying up the floor.
It’s mesmerizing. It only takes him a few minutes before he’s reaching to open the valve and test the faucet.
No leaks. He turns to me with a victorious grin and realizes I’ve been salivating over him the whole time he’s been working.
A wicked gleam washes across his eyes and his smile turns darker.
I have to blink several times to help gather myself.
“Was that entertaining or educational for you?” He crouches back down, taking the wet towel from my hands.
A wet slap from it landing on top of the others in the basket echoes through the kitchen.
I swallow hard, knowing a flush is creeping up my neck and into my cheeks.
He curls a brow at me before eyeing how much water is left on the floor.
I must’ve done alright, because he doesn’t look intent on wiping any more up.
Instead, he crawls over to me, not caring if his shorts get wet, and tips my chin up for a deep kiss.
“Mmm, we’re going to have to do something about how wet you are.” I smirk at his innuendo as he reaches for the hem of my shirt, drawing it up and over my head. The sound of it slapping against the wet tile only turns me on more.
“I’m dripping,” I play back. It’s not a lie. A deep, guttural sound rumbles from his throat. It’s almost predatory, and it makes me shiver.
“Fuck, Sydney.” He dives in for another kiss, reaching to unbutton my shorts as I reach for the hem of his shirt.
He helps by pulling it over his back, his muscles flexing fantastically as he rips it off.
He pushes his fingers into the waistband of my panties and finds me soaked, slipping his fingers up and down my wet slit.
He groans into the kiss and pulls his lips away from mine. “You got a thing for handymen?”
“I got a thing for you,” I answer on a pant, praying he’ll shove those fingers into me any second.
“Likewise,” he pants back into my open mouth, inhaling my gasp as he slides two fingers into my greedy pussy.
My back arches, and we slip around on the tiles as he pumps his digits a few times.
“As much as I’d love to fuck you right here on the floor, I don’t think the wet floor will do us any favors,” Colin whispers into my ear before sucking my earlobe into his mouth.
I moan at the way it sends sparks straight to my clit.
He grabs my ass cheek with his free hand and gives it a good squeeze.
“Different place! Now,” he pants into my neck, pulling his fingers out of me, and I whimper at the loss.
He chuckles darkly. “They’ll be back in there in just a few minutes, no worries.
” He stands, pulling me to my feet before lifting me up and wrapping my legs around his waist. He unsnaps my bra as he carries me into the foyer toward my stairs.
I rip it off just as he lays me down on the foyer’s table.
He pushes me back onto my elbows and sucks a nipple into his mouth.
I groan, threading my fingers into his hair and holding his mouth in place.
His tongue circles and flicks as he pulls down my shorts, slapping those wet suckers on the floor by his feet.
He switches nipples as I feel him fumbling with his athletic shorts.
His fingers rake up my thighs, and I gasp as he yanks my body to the edge of the table.
“As promised…” Colin shoves my panties to the side and slides his fingers back in. Fuck, that’s sooo good. I moan loud at the intrusion. His thumb moves to circle my clit, causing me to throw my head back and cry out.